What Type Of Environment To Plecostamuses Perfer? (rocky, Caves, Plant

[Amina]

Hey there, Im new to these forums but yea.

I've got one fish...I've had many tanks and fish in the past..but for now I only have one....

anyways...

As of right now his tank is somewhat boring... He's about a foot long and in a 15 gallon aquarium. Ive been thinking about putting him in one of my old larger tanks so he can get bigger. But I'm tryting do figure out how to decorate it.....I've searched google tryint to find what type on environment they prefer to live in in the wild, but I havnt found anything....anyone know? Right now ive got it pretty basic without many plants, because I feel the tank is somewhat small for him...Its taller than it is wide, and Since he is more of a bottom dweller, he seems to have trouble with lots f plants and stuff in the tank.

So if anyone knows anything about Plecos.... Do they like rocky...caves....floating plants...lots of plants? I'll take a pic of the very boring tank right now, and if i can post it i will

 

[RiiCKYOMD]

Plants look good and in previous experience with a cave.. they do like it Some reports and threads even say they see it as protection and dont out that much. But other poeple may be better qualified and experience to comment

 

[Amina]

This is the 15 gallon Ive got him in atm....

This is either a 25 or 30 gallon...or maybe more, i cant remember...But this is the one Im going to upgrade him to...(It's currently filled with grass and what not because it was used a a lizrd rehabilitation center for the lizards we found our cats torturing lol >.<...we saved 5 tho ) but yea

I think im gonna do some like alot of live plants with some sort of rock formation cave for him to hide in.

 

[Puffdaddy]

Welcome to the forum. First and for most The biggest problem I see with your Pleco is the size of the tank. It is far to small for him, 15gl not right. I would say he needs at least 55gl to thrive. As for Q's live plants and most definitely bogwood is good for him. Cave and other hiding spots are always good.

 

[murphyk32]

i have 2 plecos and i have 2 "logs" (plastic, bought from walmart..) and one is always in the inside of one on the top upsidedown and the other pleco is always the same on the inside top of the other one. I would suggest getting him a cave // hallow log.

 

[Puffdaddy]

If you post the length, width and hight of the bigger tank I can tell you many gallons it is. No matter the size of it, it will be much better for his well being.

 

[n3ont3tra]

It looks to me like a 37g tank... 30"x12"x22". I always see that stand with either a 29g or 37g, but it looks kinda tall for a 29g.

 

[Amina]

Okay been up since 3:30am...woke up couldnt go back to sleep...finally got started on the fishtank around 8 this morning....I've JUST now finished and it's 12:40 pm ... Gonna get some more larger live plants to put in the back (the store only had 3 plants this morning....) *sigh* now I just gotta wait about a week or so to let it cycle...then i can put my spoiled little sharkbait in his new home! ^-^ Hopefully now he'll get bigger! ...when i got him he was about an inch long, now hes about a foot! lol...deciding what fish I should put with him.... I was thinking about Oscar's But I know they get huge aswell....Then maybe Angel fish...But I've had them before and they do enjoy biting sharkbait's fins....I think im gonna get rainbow Gourami's I had some awhile back and I loved them. (Now it's time for a long nap.....)

oh! and I found out It's a 37 gallon.

 

[-germ-]

Whats a rainbow gourami, sorry don't recognise the common name?
Edit; Thanks google.... if you mean dwarf gourami then be extremely careful, their quality is abysmal currently.
You risk Dwarf Gourami IridoVirus with Dwarves, a lethal illness with no current accepted cure....
They are also at risk of bacterial illness more than most due to poor farming/breeding...
Don't buy any that ave been imported from (bred/kept with) Singapore (gourami).
If you are Australian i wouldn't even consider it, the likelihood of getting an infected fish is very high (22% i think)....

How about honeys, thick lips or pearls?

 

[Musho3210]

i think the problem at hand is the size of the tank, ive seen common plecs at 2 feet long, and they poop so much, my bn plec poops more than he eats and hes only an inch long. There is pleco poop all over my sand in that tank (pleco poop is thin while my other fishes poop is thicker, dont ask me how i know). They get huge and poop a lot, probably need something that is about 6 feet long, 4 feet could last a while though but 37 gallons wont last long at all.

THis is a common pleco right?

 

[-germ-]

i think the problem at hand is the size of the tank, and they poop so much, my bn plec poops more than he eats and hes only an inch long. There is pleco poop all over my sand in that tank (pleco poop is thin while my other fishes poop is thicker, dont ask me how i know). They get huge and poop a lot, probably need something that is about 6 feet long, 4 feet could last a while though but 37 gallons wont last long at all.
THis is a common pleco right?

Of course the pleco is an issue (if a common, even if not) i think a 30gal is too small for a 12" fish, but considering adding a species of fish that has such serious inherent problems as the Dwarf Gourami deserves just as much attention. Particularly when unaware of the posters location.
IMHO both issues are important.
Not having a go Musho, possibly misinterpreted the way you phrased your post.

 

[clinton ><>]

looks good the tank

 

[Musho3210]

i think the problem at hand is the size of the tank, and they poop so much, my bn plec poops more than he eats and hes only an inch long. There is pleco poop all over my sand in that tank (pleco poop is thin while my other fishes poop is thicker, dont ask me how i know). They get huge and poop a lot, probably need something that is about 6 feet long, 4 feet could last a while though but 37 gallons wont last long at all.
THis is a common pleco right?

Of course the pleco is an issue (if a common, even if not) i think a 30gal is too small for a 12" fish, but considering adding a species of fish that has such serious inherent problems as the Dwarf Gourami deserves just as much attention. Particularly when unaware of the posters location.
IMHO both issues are important.
Not having a go Musho, possibly misinterpreted the way you phrased your post.

you miss interpreted, its ok, i do it all the time.

I meant that the problem is not what decoration the pleco needs, its the size of the tank. I wasnt comparing the pleco to the guorami in terms of what the problem is.

 

[Amina]

Hmm wow I wasnt aware of this disease the gourami's have..(and yes around here...dwarf Gourami....rainbow gourami...same thing, and thers the kissing gourami too).....I'll post a pic of him in the tank later. You guys seem to think hes bigger than he really is.

 

[Amina]

I'am sorry I underestimated the size of him....and the size of a foot.... hes about 7 or 8 inches long, Im waiting for him to come out of his little cave so I can try and measure him.

Andanother thing. He will only grow the size that hes comfortable with in the current tank he lives in...for instance..When I got him he was about an inch long, and I had him in a 10 gallon....after he got bigger i upgraded him to the 15 or 20 gallon (the one hes in right now)...He's grown to his maximum comfort level of that tank, which is about 7 or 8 inches. Now that he is getting movied to a larger tank, he may grow larger. As of right now he has PLENTY of room in there.